Huawei 3G Mobility

HO Mobility
 3G MOBILITY
Handover Algorithms
Introduction
INTRA_Freq HO parameters
INTER_FREQ and INTERAT HO
parameters
Neighbor Cell Combination
Load HO
SUMMARY HO Strategy
UMTS Protocol stack
UMTS Uu Interface
HANDOVER INTRA_UMTS

Compressed
mode
Intrafrequency HO

To allow adding valid cells in

detected set to Active set
(if neighbor relation is
defined)

Intrafreq soft/softer HO &

Intrafreq HHO are enabled.
InterRNC HO

HO interRNC over Iur is enabled

with a neighbor RNC.
InterRNC HO

If the RRC connection has been set up but

the Radio Bearers (RBs) have not, whether a
cross-Iur soft
handover can be executed is determined by
HO_MC_SIGNAL_IUR_INTRA_SWITCH
parameter. Only if the switch is set to ON,
can the cross-Iur soft handover be executed.
INTRAFREQUENCY HO
Procedure
 1. Measurement Phase
1. the UE takes measurements according to the MEASUREMENT
CONTROL message received from the RNC
The MEASUREMENT CONTROL message carries the following information:
-Event trigger threshold
-Hysteresis value
-Event trigger delay time
- Neighboring cell list

Measurement Measurement
Control: Control: event
Neighbor List triggering
 1. Measurement Phase

Quantity of the triggered measurements for

intra-frequency handovers is either CPICH_EcIo
or CPICH RSCP.
 1. Measurement Phase
Triggering of
A: signal quality curve of the best event 1a
cell in the active set
B: signal quality curve of a cell in
the monitored set
C: curve of Th1A

MNew is the measurement value of the cell in the reporting range

CIONew is equal to the sum of CIO and CIOOffset
W represents weighted factor
Mi is the measurement value of a cell in the active set.
MBest is the measurement value of the best cell in the active set.
R1a is the reporting range or the relative threshold of soft handover.
H1a represents HYSTFOR1A, the hysteresis value of event 1A
 1. Measurement Phase

the reporting range or the relative

threshold of soft handover

The value of this parameter is associated with

the slow fading. If this parameter is set to a
greater value, the number of ping-pong
handovers and the number of incorrect
handovers reduce;
Weighted factor ranges from 0 to 2
The weighted factor (W) is considered when
triggering event 1a and event 1b.
The more the value increases, the more soft
HO 1a and 1b becomes difficult.
The actual value 0 makes faster event 1a
and 1b.
 1. Measurement Phase
Triggering of
event 1b
A: signal quality curve of the best cell
in the active set
B: signal quality curve of the best cell
in the monitored set
C: curve of Th1B

MOld is the measurement value of the cell that becomes worse.

CIOOld is equal to the sum of CIO and CIOOffset
W represents weighted factor
Mi is the measurement value of a cell in the active set
MBest is the measurement value of the best cell in the active set.
R1b is the reporting range or the relative threshold of soft handover.
 1. Measurement Phase
Triggering of
event 1c

A: signal quality curve of the best cell

in the active set
B: signal quality curve of a cell in the
active set
C: signal quality curve of the worst cell
in the active set
D: signal quality curve of a cell in the
monitored set
E: curve of Th1C

MNew is the measurement value of the cell in the reporting range.

CIONew is the cell individual offset value of the cell in the reporting
range.
MInAS is the measurement value of the worst cell in the active set.
H1c is the hysteresis value of event 1C.
 1. Measurement Phase
Triggering of
event 1d
A: signal quality curve of the best
cell in the active set
B: signal quality curve of a cell in the
active set or the monitored set
C: curve of Th1D

MNotBest is the measurement value of a cell that is not the best cell.
CIONotBest is equal to the sum of CIO and CIOOffset,
MBest is the measurement value of the best cell in the active set.
H1d is the hysteresis value of event 1D,
 1. Decision Phase
When receiving an
event 1A, 1C, or 1D
report, the RNC
adds a target cell to
the active set only
when the
CPICH Ec/No of the
target cell is higher
than the absolute
threshold
SHOQualmin.
 3.Execution
Softer HO
phase

Radio Link Addition Procedure is performed to add one or more radio links towards a UE.
Triggering Conditions: The SRNC sends a RADIO LINK ADDITION REQUEST message.
The procedure of radio link setup is described as follows:
1.The SRNC sends a RADIO LINK ADDITION REQUEST message to the NodeB. After receiving the message,
the NodeB reserves the necessary resources and configures the new radio link or links according to the
parameters given in the message.
2.The NodeB sends a response message to the SRNC.
-If all the requested radio links are added, the NodeB saves the value of the Configuration Generation ID IE
contained in the RADIO LINK ADDITION REQUEST message and sends a RADIO LINK ADDITION RESPONSE
message.
-If any radio link fails to be added, the NodeB sends a RADIO LINK ADDITION FAILURE message. The
message contains the failure cause in the Cause IE.
 3.Execution
Softer HO
phase

Radio Link Deletion Procedure is performed to release resources in a NodeB for one or more established radio
links towards a UE
Triggering Conditions: The SRNC sends a RADIO LINK DELETION REQUEST message.
The procedure of radio link deletion is described as follows:
1.The SRNC sends a RADIO LINK SETUP REQUEST message to the NodeB. After receiving the message, the
NodeB deletes the radio links specified by the message
2.The NodeB sends a response message to the CRNC.
-If the radio link are deleted, the NodeB sends a RADIO LINK DELETION RESPONSE message.
-If the radio link fails to be deleted, the NodeB sends a RADIO LINK DELETION RESPONSE message. The
message contains the failure cause.
3.Execution
Soft HO
phase
3.Execution
Soft HO
phase
Rate Reduction in case of SHO
failure
Rate Reduction in case of SHO
failure
 ShoFailPeri
od
DcccShoPenaltyT
ime ShoFailNumForDwn
Grd

The condition of rate reduction is as

follows: Mnew > Mbest_cell -
RelThdForDwnGrd
InterFreq and InterRat HHO

HO_INTER_FREQ_HARD_HO_SWITCH: The switch

decides whether the RNC allows inter-frequency
handover.
HO_INTER_RAT_PS_OUT_SWITCH: The switch
decides whether the RNC allows inter-RAT handover
of the PS domain from the UTRAN.
HO_INTER_RAT_CS_OUT_SWITCH: The switch
decides whether the RNC allows inter-RAT handover
of the CS domain from the UTRAN.
HO_MC_SIGNAL_SWITCH: When the switch is on, quality measurement
on the active set is delivered after signaling setup but before service
setup. If the UE is at the cell verge or receives weak signals after
accessing the network, the RNC can trigger inter-frequency or inter-RAT
handover when the UE sets up the RRC.
It is set to OFF which mean that interfreq or interRat
measurements are delivered after service set up.
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
Measurement events involved in inter-
frequency handover
Event description
id
2D The estimated quality of the currently used frequency is
below a certain threshold
2F The estimated quality of the currently used frequency is
above a certain threshold.
2B The estimated quality of the currently used frequency is
below a certain threshold and the estimated quality of a non-
used frequency is above a certain threshold.
3A The estimated quality of the currently used UTRAN frequency
is below a certain threshold and the estimated quality of the
other system is above a certain threshold.
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
1. Triggering Phase
In the triggering phase
-If the CPICH of the current cell becomes worse, the UE reports the event 2D. Then the RNC initiates the
coverage handover.
-If the link quality of the current service deteriorates, the Link Stability Control Algorithm makes a QoS
handover
Event 2Ddecision. Then the RNC initiate the QoS handover.
triggering:
Event 2D is triggered on the basis of the following formula:
QUsed TUsed2d - H2d/2
- QUsed is the measured quality of the used frequency.
- H2d is the event 2D hysteresis value set through the parameter HystFor2D.
- TUsed2d is the absolute quality threshold of the cell that uses the current frequency. Based on the service type
and measurement quantity, this threshold can be configured through one of the following parameters:

Inter-RAT parameter
Inter-frequency parameters InterRATCSThd2DEcN0
InterFreqCSThd2DEcN0 InterRATR99PsThd2DEcN0
InterFreqR99PsThd2DEcN0 InterRATHThd2DEcN0
InterFreqHThd2DEcN0 InterRATCSThd2DRSCP
InterFreqCSThd2DRSCP InterRATR99PsThd2DRSCP
InterFreqR99PsThd2DRSCP InterRATHThd2DRSCP
InterFreqHThd2DRSCP

After the conditions of event 2D are fulfilled and maintained until the TimeToTrig2D is reached, the UE sends
the event 2D measurement report message
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
1. Triggering Phase

The parameters related to

HSPA handover are valid only
when the switch
HO_ALGO_OVERLAY_SWITC
H is set to ON. Otherwise, all
the PS domain services will
take the
parameters related to R99 PS
service as a measurement
event threshold.
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
1. Triggering Phase

- The Highlighted parameters are

relative to Event 2d Interfrequency
triggering.
- If the UE has only signaling
connections currently, the
thresholds for CS services are used
(currently HO_MC_SIGNAL_SWITCH
is switched off)
- Event 2f triggering parameters
should have larger values than
event 2d.
!!!: Because of
HO_ALGO_OVERLAY_SWITCH is
switched OFF Inter-Freq HSPA
Measure event 2d triggering is
not valid.
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
1. Triggering Phase

- The Highlighted parameters are

relative to Event 2d Inter RAT
triggering.
- If the UE has only signaling
connections currently, the
thresholds for CS services are used
(currently HO_MC_SIGNAL_SWITCH
is switched off)
- Event 2f triggering parameters
should have larger values than
event 2d.
!!!: Because of
HO_ALGO_OVERLAY_SWITCH is
switched OFF Inter-Freq HSPA
Measure event 2d triggering is
not valid.
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
2. Measurement Phase

The RNC sends an inter-frequency measurement control message to the UE, requesting the NodeB and UE to
start the compressed mode. The RNC also requests the UE to perform the inter-frequency or inter-RAT handover
measurement.
The coverage-based and QoS-based handover use event-triggered or periodical measurement report mode.
- InterFreqReportMode: The measurement report mode of inter-frequency handover. The method of either
periodical measurement report or event-triggered measurement report can be used.
-InterRatReportMode: The measurement report mode of inter-RAT handover. The method of either periodical
measurement report or event-triggered measurement report can be used.
- PrdReportInterval: The periodical measurement report interval of inter-frequency handover.
- InterRATPeriodReportInterval: The periodical measurement report interval of inter-RAT handover.

Based on the measurement control message received from the RNC, the UE periodically reports the
measurement quality of the target cell. Then, based on the measurement report, the RNC makes the handover
decision and performs handover.
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
2. Measurement Phase

Parameters for INTERFREQ HO:

- the reporting mode is currently set to Periodical Reporting
- PrdReportInterval is set to D500, smaller than
InterRATPeriodReportInterval
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
2. Measurement Phase
Parameters for INTERRAT HO:
- the reporting mode is currently set to Periodical Reporting
- InterRATPeriodReportInterval is set to D1000, larger than
PrdReportInterval

During inter-RAT measurement, it is recommended that

the UE report the 2G cell to the RNC after the
Base Transceiver Station Identity Code (BSIC) of the cell
is verified. This greatly enhances the reliability
of handover. The parameter BSICVerify is the control
switch for the BSIC verification.
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
3. Decision and execution Phase

The coverage-based and QoS-based inter-frequency handovers are

categorized into two types according to the following two
measurement report modes: periodical measurement report mode and
event-triggered measurement report mode. Each mode corresponds to
a different decision and execution procedure.
We will focus only on periodical measurement report mode HO
decision
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
3. Decision and execution Phase
InterFrequency HHO

Priority of Coverage-Based Inter-Frequency Handover (HOCovPrio):

Priority for neighboring cell supporting coverage-based inter-frequency handover. The value "0" indicates
that the coverage-based inter-frequency handover is not supported. The value "1" indicates that the cell is
assigned with the highest priority for the handover. The value "3" indicates that the cell is assigned with
the lowest priority for the handover.

After receiving the periodical measurement report of the inter-frequency cell, the RNC starts the following
decision procedures:
1. Decide whether both the CPICH Ec/No value and CPICH RSCP value of the pilot signal of the target cell
meet the requirement of inter-frequency handover.
The evaluation formula is listed below:
Mother_Freq + CIOother_Freq Tother_Freq + H/2
Where,
Mother_Freq is the CPICH Ec/No or CPICH RSCP measurement value of the target cell reported by the UE.
Both of the two measurement values of the inter-frequency cell must satisfy the formula.
CIOother_Freq is the cell individual offset value of the target cell. It is equal to the sum of CIO and
CIOOffset.
TargetFreqCsThdEcN0
TargetFreqR99PsThdEcN0
Tother_Freq is the decision threshold TargetFreqHThdEcN0
of inter-frequency hard handover. Based on the service type and
TargetFreqCsThdRscp
TargetFreqR99PsThdRscp TargetFreqHThdRscp
measurement quantity, this threshold can be configured through one of the following parameters:
H is the inter-frequency hard handover hysteresis value set through the parameter
HystForPrdInterFreq.
2- Start the hard handover time-to-trigger timer, which is configured through the parameter
TimeToTrigForPrdInterFreq.
3. If Mother_Freq + CIOother_Freq < Tother_Freq - H/2, stop the timer.
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
3. Decision and execution Phase
InterFrequency HHO

Target INTERFREQ
Thresholds HHO Period Trigger Delay
It is set to 0 (DEFAULT VALUE): it
is good for the fast moving UE
but increases incorrect decision.
 Coverage and QoS
InterFreq/InterRat HHO
3. Decision and execution Phase
InterRAT HHO

1. Decide whether the quality of 2G cells meets the conditions of inter-RAT handover. The evaluation formula is
listed below:
Mother_RAT + CIOother_RAT Tother_RAT + H/2
Where,
Mother_RAT is the measurement result of inter-RAT handover received by the RNC.
CIOother_RAT is the cell individual offset value of the target cell. It is equal to the sum of CIO and CIOOffset.
Tother_RAT is the decision threshold of inter-RAT hard handover.
Based on the service type and measurement quantity, this threshold can be configured through the following
parameters:
TargetRatCsThd
TargetRatR99PsThd
TargetRatHThd
H is the inter-RAT handover hysteresis value set through HystforInterRAT.
2. Start the evaluation of the cells that meet the quality requirement and start the time-to-trigger timer. If the
measurement report meet the following formula and time-to-trigger timer does not expire, stop the time-to-
trigger timer.
Mother_RAT + CIOother_RAT < Tother_RAT - H/2
Neighbor Cell Combination

HO_MC_NCELL_COMBINE_SWIT
CH is the neighboring cell
combination switch.
The switch is set to ON,
measurement objects are chosen
from the neighboring cells of all
the cells in the active set.
 Neighbor Cell Combination
After obtaining the intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-RAT neighboring cells of each cell in the
active set, the RNC calculates the combined neighboring cell set, which is referred as Sall, by using the
following method.
These neighboring cells and active cells are added to Sall in the following order until the number reaches
the maximum number of neighboring cells:
Step 1 The best cell in the active is added to Sall.
The best cell is reported on event 1D.
Step 2 Other cells in the active set are added to Sall in the in descending order by CPICH Ec/No.
Step 3 The neighboring cells of the best cell in the active set are added to Sall.
NprioFlag (the flag of the priority) and Nprio (the priority of the neighboring cell), which are set for
each neighboring cell, are used to change the order of adding the neighboring cells to S all.
When NprioFlag is switched to FALSE, NPrio is cleared.
When NprioFlag is switched to TRUE, NPrio is set simultaneously.
Step 4 The neighboring cells of other cells in the active set are added to Sall in descending order by
CPICH Ec/No values of these cells in the active set. The number to be repeatedly added of each
neighboring cell is recorded.
The neighboring cells of the same cell in the active set are added according to Nprio.
If the number of the cells in Sall is more than maximum number of neighboring cells, delete the
neighboring cells whose repeated number in Sall is less. The best cell and its neighboring cells will not be
deleted.
NprioFlag is switched to FALSE=>
NPrio is cleared.
 Neighbor Cell Combination

The maximum number of neighboring cells of a cell that can be

configured is as follows:
- The maximum number of intra-frequency neighboring cells is 32,
which includes the cell itself.
- The maximum number of inter-frequency neighboring cells of single
carrier is 32.
- The maximum number of inter-frequency neighboring cells of 2
carriers is 64. No more than 2 carriers of inter-frequency cells can be
configured.
- The maximum number of inter-RAT neighboring cells of multi-carrier
is 32
 Load Handover
Load handover is used to balance the load among inter-frequency or inter-RAT cells. Load
handover falls into the following categories:
Inter-frequency LDR handover
Inter-RAT LDR handover
Inter-RAT service handover